• whoreticulture@lemmy.world
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    7 months ago

    I don’t think Judith Butler is opposed to policies that demonstrably improve gender equality such as abortion. Correct me if I’m wrong here?? I think the playing with gender is just part of it. And I feel like it has a real impact, idk I know a lot of nonbinary and gender fluid people and they are not, on the whole, hierarchy-obssessed people.

    The biological conditions that lead to patriarchy can totally be leveled out somewhat, but it’s hard to rule out the reality of how testosterone impacts physical strength, and the impact of pregnancy. It’s not really about stereotypes it’s about sex differences.

    I think playing with gender isn’t just for the “oppressed” to have fun under a difficulty hierarchy. If more dudes were wearing skirts and participating in feminine activities, it would be harder for them to be violent against women. Think about all the incels who worship masculinity and never talk to girls and are just scary as hell. And if the incels wanted to fetishize this masculinity worship, it wouldn’t be as serious you know? Like they are serious about their violence as is, but if they successfully recontextualized it as a fantasy that they partake in during a specific context with consenting people, that might be better?

    • idiomaddict@feddit.de
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      7 months ago

      I don’t think she’s opposed to them either, but that’s not what she’s suggested (though she may have come out in favor of abortion specifically since roe v wade was overruled, which is frankly a must for anyone at all associated with feminism). She suggests working within the system to find your own private fulfillment.

      I don’t necessarily disagree with the concept, but it seems too stoic, in that it seems to be about coming to terms with your oppression instead of fighting it. As a model of feminist thought, I think it has a chilling effect on people trying to change the system.

      You’ve got a very good insight on the effects of testosterone if you’ve undergone any hormone treatment, so I suspect you understand its effects on the body and mind than I do. I don’t see why physical size and pregnancy should directly correlate to stereotypes about mental capabilities, especially given that we have anthropological evidence of contradictory stereotypes from different cultures.

      I agree that subverting gender can have positive ripple effects, but I don’t think Judith Butler effectively makes this claim. It’s cool that it works, but they haven’t done their academic duty with this, which I think also dampens the likelihood that it will be taken up.